The BCH Thesaurus

Thesaurus, Preferred Terms and Controlled Vocabulary

The BCH Thesaurus provides a list of pre-defined terms and related synonyms, or ‘controlled vocabularies’, used in a specific context. These terms are used to register and search for information in the BCH databases. In the BCH Thesaurus, equivalent relationships are established between synonyms, which in many contexts have meanings that are considered virtually interchangeable.

Preferred terms are sourced from existing multilingual thesauruses or other internationally agreed upon documentation whenever possible. (Please see the Thesaurus Sources page for further information.)

Non-preferred terms are included in the thesaurus to act as a guide to the preferred terms. They are gathered based on international publications, keywords used in other international databases, and users’ search patterns.

The BCH Controlled Vocabulary uses preferred terms from the BCH Thesaurus to classify records in the BCH which allows users to consistently register and search for information in the databases in multiple languages.